Events

Please sign up to sponsor a meeting.  In comments please include the meeting that you are interested in sponsoring and Kathryn Nelson will get back to you to confirm that date is still available.  She will also includ more information about the sponsorship benefits and timing. 

One of the biggest threats to orcas and Puget Sound is polluted stormwater runoff, but fortunately, there are ways that everyone living in western Washington can take action and keep this pollution out of the Sound and away from endangered orcas.

 Robb Krehbiel is the Green Stormwater Program Manager for the Pierce Conservation District where he helps homeowners, community groups, and businesses in Pierce County build pollinator and rain gardens, remove lawns and concrete, and harvest rain water. These projects not only help beautify neighborhoods; they also reduce polluted stormwater runoff from reaching Puget Sound. Robb lives in Tacoma’s South End (Blueberry Park Neighborhood).

Repack is always a great time!

Virtual Thursday at 5 at the Tacoma Urban League 

Take a virtual tour of the Tacoma Urban League at the next Thursday at 5 meeting hosted by member T'wina Nobles. The mission of the Urban League is to assist African Americans and other underserved urban residents in the achievement of social equality and economic independence. We'll meet some of their organization's leaders in this virtual setting. 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82555733370

Join the team for a fun afternoon of construction with the Little Free Library BUILD.

John is a recently retired dentist, who served the Tacoma Pierce County Community for many years. In 2008 Dr. Winskill was the recipient of the Washington Dental Association Citizen of the Year.   Pacific Luthernan University also recognized him as an outstanding alum.  Married to his wife Jan for 45 yeares they raised two sons, Christopher and Matthew.

John  will share the story of the history and growth of a non profit he started named Toys for Kids.  Over the years they have served  hundreds of families who live with medically fragile children and their siblings. Through their partnership with Mary Bridge they make the holidays brighter for these children.  

This week's meeting will honor our Rotarian of the Year.

St. Vincent dePaul welcomes help from Rotary #8 at its next sorting event. Be engaged with your fellow Rotarians while serving your community.

Phil Carter will highlight experiences that demonstrate how the youth and community are impacted by sports programs. 

We will meet Lutheran Community Services NW in a virtual setting. 

Registration is not required. 

Click here to join the meeting.

Register and pay for all Rotary 8 lunch meetings April 7 - June 30, 2022. 

When you buy the prepaid meal plan, you are preregistered to attend every lunch meeting and that helps us make accurate reservations with the hotel.

Your reward?  You receive the equivalent of one free meal for your participation. 

Marissa Lewis with EFN will be with Tacoma Rotary 8 to discuss the EFN Home Grocery Delivery Program. 

Merrissa Lewis is the coordinator of the home food delivery program at the Emergency Food Network. She will tell us about EFN and the porgram she manages.

University of Puget Sound President Isaiah Crawford, Ph.D., will be the guest speaker.

Dr. Isaiah Crawford will be with Tacoma Rotary 8 to discuss the University of Puget Sound.

We're assembling Break Bags for students on the lunch program in Pierce County to have over Spring Break. Join us in fellowship and service. Rotarians and guests are welcome.

Join the Literacy Committee for the next Little Free Library Build.

A member of the local community will be recognized for their outstanding dedication and service to others.

Spend a few hours with friends and make a difference sorting items that have been donated at St. Vincent de Paul.

Julie Anderson has served as Pierce County Auditor since 2009.

The Auditor's Office is responsible for elections, licensing and public document recording.

Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson will be the guest speaker on April 7, 2022. 

The annual fundraising auction for the Rotary Club of Tacoma will take place this year online. 

Through the virtual setting, you'll be able to view and purchase "buy now" items, make bids, and help us fund the needs of the Tacoma Community through Raise the Paddle. 

Host a viewing party at your home and join us online!

Click here to go the Maxgiving website and register today. 

Click here to watch the presentation on April 9, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.

For more than 30 years, UW Tacoma has helped the South Sound thrive, giving over 28,000 people the chance to fulfill their educational dreams and helping revitalize downtown Tacoma. Come hear about how they partner with the community to make it happen and why the future is even more exciting.

Help us and our EFN Friends at Repack. See you there.

Title: Communities for a Healthy Bay and Rotary #8 help protect Storm Drains

Date: Friday, April 22, 2022

Time: 1:00-5:00pm

Looking for 15-40 volunteers.  Can be in teams.

Storm drain misuse is one of the leading causes of pollution in the Puget Sound.  Help travel through different neighborhoods of Tacoma to affix placards to drains in the area letting people know not to dump anything in the storm drains.  

If volunteering you will start at the Communities for a Healthy Bay office, 535 Dock Street, Tacoma, to pick up supplies and get instructions on how to use an app on your phone to locate the drains you need affix a placard to.  Help for an hour, or go out for the full time period.  Then you'll just need to return your supplies to the office at the end of your time.  

Join us in cleaning up Wainwright School's rain gardens!  

Give back to your local school by helping us improve these three rain gardens by pulling weeds and laying down wood chips.  We will provide tools, you just need to bring gloves and your own snacks.  

Volunteers are needed to spruce up local parks by trimming limbs, grooming grounds, combing beaches, and maintaining restoration areas.  Each person counts! Come together to lend a hand to keep parks beautiful, our community strong and connected, and being a good steward of the earth.

We invite Rotary 8 to join us at Titlow Park, (8425 6th Avenue Tacoma, WA 98465) from 9-12pm on April 23^rd. We ask that volunteers bring their own gloves and dress for the weather. Tools will be provided, but volunteers are welcome to bring a rake, shovel, or hand pruners to assist in the work.

We will meet in the big parking lot next to the playground and spray park.

Dona Ponepinto, United Way of Pierce County, President & CEO

Dona is currently the President and CEO for United Way of Pierce County. Dona joined UWPC in January of 2014 and brings over 30 years of experience within the United Way network. She is active in both the state and national levels, where she has served as the chair for the United Ways of the Pacific Northwest, and is a past co-chair of the Black Professionals Leadership Alliance, comprised of other United Way CEOs.

She also has worked at three other United Ways including United Way for Southeast Michigan (UWSEM) in Detroit, Michigan as a VP, Orange County’s United Way and the United Way of Greater Los Angeles.

She has been slated as President-Elect of the Association of Junior Leagues International, serves on the board of Pierce County Aids Foundation (PCAF), Tacoma Art Museum, Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital, South Sound Together, Workforce Development Council, and Tacoma Community College. She is also a proud member of Rotary Tacoma 8.

Dona holds a BA in Psychology and a MS Degree in Counseling from Creighton University. 

Jim Walton, United Way of Pierce County, Board Member and Centennial Campaign Tri-Chair

Jim has a long history with United Way of Pierce County, starting in 1971. He became Board Chair in 1981 and Workplace Campaign Chair in 2005. As a board member, he serves on the Executive and Governance committees, and is currently a Centennial Campaign Tri-Chair.

Originally from Texas and proud of it. He was City Manager for Tacoma and served in leadership roles for 32 years. He is also an original member of the Black Collective and founding director of Commencement Bank.

Jim received The Humanitarian Award in 2018 from Community Health Care and is one of Community Health Care’s six founders. His award celebration drew in over 400 people to celebrate him and his long history leading community change in the City of Tacoma and in Pierce County.

He is a previous board member of Goodwill. He also served as Past President of Tacoma Sunrise Club and has been a Rotarian for 30+ years. His accomplishments and accolades are endless.

Emily Mendez-Bryant, United Way of Pierce County, Chief Development Officer

Emily is currently the Chief Development Officer for United Way of Pierce County. She was born and raised in Seattle and lived in Hawaii from 2005-2019. She relocated to Tacoma to continue the meaningful work of United Way.

Previously, she was the VP of Fundraising and Major Gifts at Aloha United Way in Honolulu. She also worked in leadership positions at Hawaii Pacific Health Foundations, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, and Moss Adams.

She is a Rotary Tacoma 8 board member, and serves on committees: Welcome (co-chair), DEAI, Finance, Major Projects and Nominating. In Hawaii, she was the President of the Rotary Club of Kona Mauka in 2007. She also serves on the board of Association of Fundraising Professionals-South Sound, and is an IDEA committee member and BIPOC Affinity Group co-lead.

She has a MBA from University of Massachusetts-Amherst, a BA in Psychology from University of Washington, and recently the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy designation from the American College of Financial Services.

Since 1921, the United Way of Pierce County has worked to break the cycle of poverty in Pierce County.

Dona Ponepinto, President and CEO, Emily Mendez-Bryant, Chief Development Officer, and Jim Walton, Board Member and Community Leader, will discuss the programs, reach, and impact of the United Way over its 100 years of service.

Enjoy classic rock & roll and dance the night away with Darryl & the Diptones and your Rotary #8 friends and guests. 

Admission includes two drink tickets and snacks. 

Hurry! Not many tickets remain for this private event.

Presenters: 

MiYoung Margolis, Founder, Artistic Director & Choreographer, Principal Dancer

Jeffrey Margolis, Executive Director

Tatiana Linardopoulou, Director of Development, Principal Dancer

Company Bio: The MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective is a performing arts dance company based in Seattle, WA.We are a diverse cast of talented dancers who present original Contemporary Fusion pieces inspired by Korean Folklore and Modern Korean Stories, with a focus on blending dance styles and cultures. MMDC Dance Company envisions a time when the universal expression of dance will ignite a movement across social and cultural boundaries to improve people’s quality of life.

The MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective is a performing arts dance company based in Seattle, WA.We are a diverse cast of talented dancers who present original Contemporary Fusion pieces inspired by Korean Folklore and Modern Korean Stories, with a focus on blending dance styles and cultures. MMDC Dance Company envisions a time when the universal expression of dance will ignite a movement across social and cultural boundaries to improve people’s quality of life.

Join the gang for the monthly sort at St. Vincent de Paul. 

This will be an ongoing event on the first Saturday of every month.

Make connections and learn more about where your fellow Rotarians work. 

This registration is for lunch only. Please use the Business Registration to secure an exhibit table. 

Host a table and tell us all about your business, an upcoming special, or simply make connections with your fellow Rotarians. This opportunity comes around only once-per-year! 

The exhibition table is $150 plus $25 per lunch. Please register for lunches on the separate lunch registration link.

Erin Guinup is the founding Executive and Artistic Director of the Tacoma Refugee Choir.

She is a passionate advocate of community singing and the power of music to heal and unite communities. She has led community singing events and spoken at national conferences for Chorus America, National Association of Teachers of Singing, American Choral Director’s Association, and the International Congress of Voice Teachers in Stockholm, Sweden, and TEDxSeattle; and the world premiere of Orson Scott Card and Mark Mitchell’s He is There; singing with Israeli-Palestinian choir Common Ground Voices in Jerusalem and Europe; and vocal workshops with Fortune 100 companies including Amazon.

She is a composer and author, contributing to the books So You Want to Sing Music by Women and My Body Was Left on the Street: Music Education and Displacement. Most recently, Erin was named one of five Women to Watch by South Sound Magazine.

The Tacoma Refugee Choir is a non-auditioned choir of refugees, immigrants, and friends who seek belonging and are committed to creating a more equitable and welcoming community. In its first five years, the Tacoma Refugee Choir led by Erin Guinup has welcomed over 700 members from over 50 countries and performed for over 25,000 people at community, educational and government events, including WE Day, the National Race & Pedagogy Conference, and U.S. Citizenship ceremonies.  The choir received standing ovations at TEDxSeattle and has been featured on PBS and network television with stories and music videos of original songs created with members.  Additional programs include social-justice-oriented Teen Sings, a refugee-centered podcast, community singing events, and group music therapy classes. We may not change conditions for the 80+ million people displaced by wars, famine, and natural disasters, but we can welcome and love those who find themselves in our community. 

Adults only. $125 each.

Come for dinner, stay for the spectacular view of Tacoma's waterfront with great company! Enjoy a progressive dinner starting with appetizers, moving onto the main course, and dessert. Hosted by Elaine Chan, Carolyn Weyrick and Julie Carpenter.

Eight guests - only two remain available. Please call the office at 253.473.7723 to complete your purchase.

Executive Director Tracy Peacock will share programs and stories from the work accomplished at St. Vincent de Paul. It's more than a thrift shop! Come and learn and stay after for an in-meeting service project to assist the unhoused in coordination with St. Vincent de Paul

Come and hear from Rotarian Tracy Peacock about the programs offered at St. Vincent de Paul. We know all about St. Vinnie's Thrift Shop but do you know what else they do? 

We'll also have an in-meeting service project today to support the unhoused in conjunction with St. Vinnie's. 

Today is a double feature. We'll hear from Jumping Joey Waters and meet the recipients of the Phase 2 Tacoma Rotary #8 Community Service Grants.

Joseph Waters is an Irish former professional footballer who played in England and the United States. He lives in the United States where he coaches Tacoma Stars of PASL and youth soccer teams. He retired from Bellarmine Preparatory where he served as the soccer coach for 29 years. 

Fourteen nonprofit organizations will receive grants.

Start June off with service! Join the team at St. Vincent de Paul for the monthly sort.

10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

It's time for one of our favorite events - the EFN Repack! 

Bring your friends and family and give us a hand.

$100/each

Celebrate five of the most popular Chinese Festivals with food and beverages with your hostess Elaine Chan.

Let's visit the Tacoma Little Theatre for a Rotary social and networking opportunity.  

Our host for the evening is Chris Serface, Managing and Artistic Director.

There will be food and drink and for those who wish to stay after the Rotary program, there will be a live reading. 

Please help our host plan by registering early. Thank you.

Our Speaker

Tony Teravainen has served as the President and CEO of STEP (Support the Enlisted Program) since 2014. He has been involved with the organization since 2009 as a volunteer, director, and then board chairman. 

He provides guidance enabling the organization to become a successful and viable partner to young military families and transitioning veterans in Southern California and Washington. STEP has assisted more than 100,000 military and veteran family members and Mr. Teravainen has helped 5,700 families in financial crisis move to self-sufficiency through financial counseling intervention. 

He was previously a consultant on strategy and process improvement with Booz Allen Hamilton and manufacturing leadership with Sony Electronics. He has undergraduate degrees in business management and nuclear engineering, a master's degree in Executive Leadership for the University of San Diego, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Liberty University.

Married to Jaclyn with two daughters and a son, Tony resides in the Highland Valley area of San Diego County where he enjoys ranching his livestock and tending to his orchards.

Support The Enlisted Project (STEP) is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization, with the mission of building financial well-being among active duty and recently discharged enlisted military and their families. STEP is headquartered in San Diego, California, with an office in Santa Ana, California, and Tacoma, Washington.

Today's meeting is at the Pacific Harbors Council of the BSA, 4802 S. 19th Street, where we will perform an in-meeting service project with the Red Cross following our program. 

Join the Projects Committee as they install four Little Free Libraries today.

Contact co-chair John Schneider at 206.353.9868 for location and time. 

Dr. Anna Jensen is the Executive Director of the Tacoma Youth Symphony, the assistant principal bassist of Symphony Tacoma, the principal bassist of the Tacoma Opera Orchestra, and regularly performs with orchestras across the region. 

   Her passion for the music translates to her deep involvement in education. In addition to instructing positions at Pacific Lutheran University and Central Washington University, Dr. Jensen was the education manager for both Symphony Tacoma and the Tacoma Youth Symphony Association where she managed the Evergreen Music Festival for 12 years. She has taught on the faculty at Bowling Green State University, Ohio and at the University of Puget Sound. Her double bass students have placed in the top three at the state level numerous times and frequently win concerto competitions. In recognition of her outstanding teaching, Dr. Jensen was the recipient of the "Outstanding Master Teacher Award" from the American String Teachers Association - WA Chapter and the "Friend of Music" award from the Washington Music Educators Association.

   Receiving her doctorate in musical arts degree in double bass performance at the University of Michigan, she studied with Dr. Diana Gannett and was a graduate student instructor. She holds degrees from the University of Michigan (DMA and MM) and Central Washington University (BM) and has been the recipient of the Mildred Tuttle Fellowship, the Farrell Merit Scholarship-Grant and was awarded the Presser Scholar. When not performing or teaching, Anna can be found making mud pies with her four young children, hiking in the woods, or encouraging her own family’s improvisational skills and joy of music!Dr. Jensen brings 15 years of nonprofit administrative experience to TYSA. Growing up in a large, musical family with five siblings, Dr. Anna Jensen was primed to excel at the double bass—while also developing a remarkable capacity for intuiting the needs of diverse learners. She embodies that rare combination of extraordinary musician, dynamic teacher, and leader.

   With 20+ years in performance and education, Dr. Jensen can develop an instant rapport with youth of all types, quickly establishing a sense of trust and shared respect that makes learning comfortable and effective. From instructing students at a Big Ten university—to developing curriculum for preschoolers—to coaching underserved teen players—Anna Jensen is keenly perceptive and gifted at quickly pivoting and adapting a lesson so it can be received by anyone. She builds students’ music skills; but more importantly, she builds self-esteem.
 

Tacoma Youth Symphony Executive Director and Conductor Dr. Anna Jensen will share its work and we'll hear from some of its young musicians along with insights from the TYSA Education team.

We'll also take a little to celebrate graduating seniors from local high schools as the Scholarship Committee announces its awards for 2022.

Save the date! Tacoma Rotary #8 is helping with a build.

Please use this link to learn more and sign-up on the Habitat for Humanity website. You must be registered with them in order to participate. 

The location is described at the above link. Gil Quante is the contact for this project.

Today we honor those who have served our club through the year and recognize those moving forward in leadership roles in the new administrative year. 

Today we'll celebrate the good work of our committees in the 2021-2022 administrative year. This meeting promises time for socializing and fun. Don't miss it!

Dale Roberts is the Governor 2022-2023 for Rotary District 5020. He and President Maria will launch a new year of engagement and service. 

There are seventeen Tacoma Rotary #8 lunch meetings between July 7 and December 15, 2022.  Be thrifty and purchase the meal plan!

For only $387, you'll be preregistered and prepaid for all lunch meetings through the end of the year. Plus, you'll save money, and help the club to boot. What a great deal!

Join us as we embark on a new year of Rotary. Imagine all the good we will do in our communities. 

District Governor Dale Roberts and President Maria Harlow will inspire us with plans for 2022-2023. 

Save the fireworks for the 4th. Join the team at St. Vincent de Paul on July 2 for the monthly sort.

10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Today we'll visit the distribution facility for Raising Girls, a local nonprofit that provides necessary hygiene products to young people in Western Washington. We'll be performing a service project today for the One Bag Drive. 

Rotarian Sharon Chambers-Gordon is our host today (think of this as our Rotary @ 5 meeting for the month). She's promised complimentary Jamaican cuisine for the Rotarian volunteers. 

We hope you'll join us!

If you are bringing a guest with you this week, - or if you are a guest or visiting Rotarian -  please email us here to let us know. Thank you.

Chief Avery Moore says, "In partnership with community members we are all “one team” so it will take unity and working together to affect crime and improve quality of life issues in Tacoma. I am very optimistic about our future."